A Companion Piece to Naixe and PMD: Shades of Honor
by Repenexus
Summary: If you wanted to know more about Naixe, this is the place to learn about it. Worldbuilding that doesn't go into Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Shades of Honor will go here, for the sake of completeness. Read and Enjoy!


**The History of the Inversion Phenomenon**

The Inversion Phenomenon is a relatively new phenomenon. Only a few thousand years old, its appearance on Naixe is nearly simultaneous with the end of the Kingdoms, among them the Kingdom of Illusuria, The Trelerectican Empire, and the great Kingdom of Eonia, which kickstarted the end with the disappearance of the reclusive Princess Glacia.

After the formation of the Rings, which appeared into existence only seven months and seven days after the fall of the last Kingdom, there was a period of unrest.

After all, the kings, who claimed to have divine protection from Arceus himself, were dead and buried. Anarchy reigned everywhere as despots asserted themselves, before mysteriously vanishing in the night. Clerics claimed that end was nigh, for Arceus himself, upon seeing the death of his proxies, determined that life was to be abandoned and, perhaps, even destroyed.

Of course, knowing of the great mercy and kindness of Arceus, as well as the relative hands-off relationship he has with other Pokemon, we can theorize this was more an attempt at fear-mongering than legitimate belief. After all, if a problem is religious in nature, then wouldn't the clerics be the first Pokemon to go to for answers.

Regardless of the truth, in this time period of chaos, Pokemon weren't sure what to believe or what to do.

Then _they_ appeared.

A strange pokemon with an unusual coloring appeared in a remote town, radiating a menacing aura. What's more, it had strange and unique powers, and most distressingly, a fundamental lack of compassion.

At this point in time, general paranoia was at an all-time high. Tentative governments were forming, but with the mass of Pokemon jockeying for power, it was foolish to trust anyone you didn't know implicitly – and even then, you would have to make sure they weren't being possessed, hypnotized, etc, routinely.

What would be written off only a few decades ago as the result of a genetic mutation of aura and pigmentation was now seen as a demon sent from the Distortion World itself, sent to rain havoc upon Pokemon kind for their transgressions.

And, having a sense of self-preservation, they attacked.

The Pokemon quickly perished, and the Pokemon prided themselves for having defeated the monster.

Then another one appeared, only a few scant years later.

Then another… and another.

Of course, they never managed to overwhelm normal Pokemon. While the Phenomenon accelerated slightly, it never managed to reach the rate at which normal Pokemon were born at. Combined with the general fear inspired into the general population, and they never could flourish.

However, even as religious tensions died and people soon began to realize that it probably _wasn't_ religious causes that produced the Apocalypse, fear against the Inverted never truly abated. Instead, it turned into righteous stigma, not truly a form of racism or speciesism due to the malevolent aura constantly surrounding them.

Patterns began to emerge, though. These Pokemon would often be born this way – in fact, until recently, the fact that a normal pokemon could be 'Inverted' was unknown. The parents of Inverted children often had several non-Inverted children, and Inversion is apparent at the hatching of Pokemon eggs.

What's more, some parents would report to their friends and various confidants that, at a certain point between laying the eggs and the eggs' hatching, the eggs would gain a malicious aura. Those eggs, noted by those same friends and confidants, would turn into Inverted Pokemon.

From this, it was inferred that an egg changed to produce an Inverted pokemon at this stage. It became imperative for expecting parents to find a way to counteract and prevent this process.

There were several ways Pokemon tried to prevent this. Some theorized that, if they were truly demons, then they would hold some connection to Giratina. If one could repel the essence of Giratina, they would be able to prevent the Pokemon from being Inverted.

This led to various hilarious yet dangerous things, from exorcism tags being hidden in the nests to dumping the eggs into vats filled with ice cubes on a regular basis.

These medieval practices are still being used to the present day, though to an incredibly diminished degree. Some small societies and towns believe these traditions to be effective deterrents to the phenomenon.

Most, however, see it as pointless, once the rates of Inverted Births didn't drop.

Other parents saw it as a sign from Arceus that they had sinned, and that they needed to repent for Arceus to retract the Phenomenon from their children.

This… didn't work. Either Arceus's hands were tied or he simply didn't want to help the parents. There are no instances of the children returning to a normal state.

There was a multitude of traditions, but a rather effective one became more prominent among the wealthy, and still continues to this day.

The spectrum of evil the Inverted Pokemon partook in varied, from simply apathetic and sociopathic to a full-on serial killer. This was semi-independent of upbringing – an Inverted Pokemon raised with 'love' from their bewitched parents could turn into an absolute monster, while another that had the entire world turned against them simply decided not to show compassion and kindness.

There was one interesting thing, several Pokemon noted. The eviler Inverted Pokemon, the ones that wouldn't be afraid to end all of Pokemon kind, reacted badly to Shiny Stones, often collapsing on the ground and crying upon exposure, to be killed immediately by anyone willing to use the advantage. For this, 'Inversion Hunters' would carry Shiny Stones with them to protect themselves.

For the less evil brand of Inverted Pokemon, the Shiny Stones would still cause them to collapse and cry. However… instead of misery and despair, the faces of these Pokemon showed clear and unambiguous joy.

These Pokemon, if allowed to keep the Shiny Stone, would often turn into productive members of society, often being morally identical to particularly nasty Dark Types – still leagues better than true Inverted Pokemon, though. Additionally, the malevolent aura would be reduced.

It didn't take long for Pokemon to think of a reason why Shiny Stones worked like this – from blessings from Arceus to a simple matter of energy interactions, Pokemon developed several reasons to explain why Shiny Stones had such a beneficial effect.

Shiny Stones grew in high demand – and naturally, prices for this rare resource rose dramatically. Unfortunately, only the wealthy were able to pay for Shiny Stones at this point. Inversion rates soon diminished among the ranks of the prosperous, but proportionally increased for everyone else.

The result of this was the Shiny Wars, where a single Shiny Stone was worth over a thousand lives. Many, many lives were lost by worried parents simply trying to ensure a happier life for their future children. The factions, controlled by those who carried that Shiny Stones, promised happiness and security for those who would fight for them.

The bloodshed was not worth it. Perhaps that was the goal of the Phenomenon the entire time.

Arceus damn the Tragedy of the Commons.

Eventually, the reason for fighting the war diminished as misinformation by peace activists was spread, claiming that the effect the Shiny Stones had was a hoax. Did the peace activists know they were lying? Perhaps. Did they care?

No.

Soon enough, the masses decided that to fight was no longer worth it, and a series of peace treaties ended the war.

However, while the common folk fell for the ruse, the wealthy, by the virtue of having Shiny Stones to experiment with, soon realized that the effect Shiny Stones had was genuine.

Instead of spreading the information, however, they spread lies of their own, claiming that the Shiny Stones had no effect on their children. The common folk accepted this, as well as the Shiny Stones that flooded back into the market.

The wealthy families would continue, up to the present day, to use the Shiny Stones for their children in secret, producing abnormally low rates of Inverted children. This, they explained, was the reward of Arceus for the hard work they put into producing a better life for themselves.

As new families came into power, the secret was spread, but only after a great degree of trust was formed between the families. As some wealthy families grew poor, the knowledge would be erased from their mind. The caste would protect the secret against scrying from psychics and other means of information gathering using their own powers. With many preventative measures, to prevent theft and war, the secret was maintained

And so time turns on.

**Properties of an Inverted Pokemon**

_Coloring_

The presence of an Inverted Pokemon is denoted by several things.

First, and foremost, is their coloring. Separated from the Shiny mutation (completely unrelated to Shiny Stones), these Pokemon have unusual pigmentation on their skin, fur, claws, fangs, etc. Unlike Shinies, though, their coloring doesn't have the chance of resembling the origin species at the very least.

The colors are, for lack of a better word, Inverted. Magenta becomes green, and green becomes magenta. Blue becomes yellow, and yellow becomes blue. Red becomes cyan, and cyan becomes red. Black becomes white, and white becomes black. If one is familiar with the light color wheel, one can see where this comes from.

Interestingly, the pigmentation color wheel, the one where red is the opposite of green, blue is the opposite of orange, and yellow is the opposite of purple (the one generally taught in art classes) doesn't apply, despite the Inversion phenomenon being primarily a pigment change rather than a light change.

For those with access to a computer and/or the internet, the use of a color inverter (for instance, /invert-image-colors) one can see this effect in action.

No one knows exactly why this pigmentary change occurs. One scholar theorizes that the overwhelming negativity inside them causes their own body to reject them, turning their colors opposite.

Others believe that it could be used to communicate with other Inverted Pokemon – interestingly, Inverted Pokemon work with each other much more effectively than they do with non-Inverted Pokemon. This is a much more credited theory, though their aura is just as effective in this regard.

That brings us to the next topic.

_Aura_

Not to be confused with Aura, the supernatural force Pokemon use to power the more… unique attacks, this aura is the general impression a Pokemon leaves on their general surroundings. Warm, cold, jovial sad… you get the picture.

The aura of normal Pokemon varies, depending on their dispositions and typings. It is fairly independent, and there isn't one particular aura you expect when you encounter a normal Pokemon.

Not so with Inverted Pokemon. As previously noted, Inverted Pokemon have an inherently malevolent, cold aura. Only with the use of a Shiny Stone can this be temporarily abated.

This aura works well to influence the Pokemon around them – in fact, if a Pokemon _can't_ sense the aura, it is usually seen as a sign of an illness. After all, when _everyone_ can sense it?

This aura is repulsive to all normal Pokemon, inspiring a primeval fear into all that bear witness to it. This causes an immediate antipathy in those exposed, as well as a sense of nervousness and spiritual imbalance.

Of course, these are the _immediate_ effects. Prolonged exposure to an Inverted Pokemon is incredibly unhealthy, causing schizophrenia and paranoia, as well as a slow corruption of the moral character. For this reason, many flee upon first seeing an Inverted Pokemon.

Interestingly, this aura is incredibly difficult for Inverted Pokemon themselves to spot, as they are constantly surrounded by it. In fact, if they are to live in isolation, as many parents will abandon Inverted eggs on the spot (interestingly, Inverted eggs are nearly indestructible, with only the Pokemon inside being able to break the shell), they won't even know the aura exists around them until they are informed of it.

This may be a partial reason why Inverted Pokemon work so much better with each other than they do normal pokemon – they don't sense each other's aura, and they might be willing to work with each other for mutual gain.

Interestingly, some of the Inverted Pokemon actually have a relaxing, positive aura, one that reassures and calms instead of causing a sense of worry, antipathy, and paranoia. This is often seen as an illusion, though, by the general populace.

_Innate Evil_

Inverted Pokemon are naturally evil. This is nearly uncontested among everyone who has exposure to an Inverted Pokemon. Often times, juveniles with no previous exposure to an Inverted Pokemon will argue differently. Perhaps they want to be a contrarian, or perhaps they believe that the belief is antiquated and inaccurate.

This ends once they are exposed to an Inverted Pokemon. If the aura wasn't enough to convince a Pokemon, the Inverted Pokemon's actions certainly will.

The morality of an Inverted Pokemon exists along a spectrum, just as normal Pokemon's morality does. However, these spectrums are _incredibly_ different in where they are relative to each other. The morality of an Inverted Pokemon exists at the tail end of the normal spectrum, and vice versa – though they are at opposite ends.

What we would consider kind and generous for a normal pokemon is simply apathy, along with signs of antisocial personality disorder for an Inverted Pokemon. What we would consider 'bad' for normal pokemon is chaotic, destructive, and just plain evil in Inverted Pokemon.

Inverted Pokemon aren't afraid to lie, cheat, and steal, nor are they afraid to do any sort of crime. The Inverted Pokemon that survive to adulthood will almost exclusively rape to satisfy sexual desires, as opposed to convincing a Pokemon to have consensual mating or even simple and safe masturbation.

Rather than buy, they will see it as better to steal – and that's if they are on the more moral end of the spectrum. If they are on the worse end, they will exclusively steal, to the point of rejecting gifts if given to them by a non-Inverted Pokemon.

The existence of Inverted Pokemon raises the question of evil. Before the fall of the kingdoms, morality was heavily debated in philosophical circles, some saying that evil is a simple perception compared to one's own morality.

But even with a wide array of moralities and ethical values, almost all say that Inverted Pokemon are evil – and the Inverted Pokemon that are saved by the Shiny Stones themselves will readily agree to this. The ones not saved by the Shiny Stones won't, but it is most likely just another lie.

However, there are exceptions to this, as there are with most things. Once in a blue moon, an Inverted Pokemon will appear with a strong sense of positive morality, a powerful internal compass. They will never cheat, never lie, never steal… nothing evil.

If one was to compare them to normal Pokemon, they would be seen as saints – and that's not even counting the Inverted Pokemon, who absolutely despise them.

These are the Pokemon with the positive, almost addictive aura. They are shunned by society because of their coloring, even having done nothing wrong themselves, and they will never do anything wrong, either.

These pokemon - let's call them Inverted Pokemon Variant X or just X variant - have an affinity with Shiny Stone. The X Variants, in complete contrast to normal Inverted Pokemon, have a natural disinclination to Dusk Stones, which they claim hold negative energy and emotions in them. Gardevoirs have yet to confirm or deny this.

The X Variants, like other Inverted Pokemon, will be willing to fight. Unlike Inverted Pokemon, they will only fight for the sake of justice and righteousness, akin to the Sacred Swordsmen. The Inverted Pokemon, on the other hand, will be willing to fight in any war, as long as they can cause as much havoc and bloodshed imaginable.

The X Variants despise normal Inverted Pokemon to the core of their soul, and the Inverted Pokemon despise them as well. They will be willing to fight to the death, to destroy each other without a second thought – and fighting an Inverted Pokemon is the only scenario in which an X Variant will be willing to ignore collateral damage.

The X Variants are relatively unknown by the general populace – or pretty much anyone. For the pure fact that no one will believe that they will act positively, not without a Shiny Stone, they are oppressed from society. The fact that they are a once-in-a-generation occurrence doesn't help either.

Their aura, as mentioned in the aura section, is a purely positive force, causing a warm, cozy feeling in those around them. As said previously, this comforting aura is disconcerting to those that have dealt with Inverted Pokemon before. They are attacked even quicker than normal Inverted Pokemon.

Woe be unto them.

_Inverted Powers_

The final, most interesting thing about Inverted Pokemon is the Inversion of their natural capabilities.

If one was to describe a Pokemon – say, using a Pokedex entry – then one would note that a Pokemon has a certain power or talent associated with it. This power is often one of a kind among the species and has predictable effects.

The Inverted Pokemon don't fit within this mold, or rather, they fit within their own unique mold. An Inverted Pokemon – for lack of a better word – reverses or inverts the power of their species.

One example: Gardevoir. Gardevoir are noted for their psychic empathy – the ability to sense other's emotions, specifically their happiness. Their biology finds pleasure in other's pleasure – joy, to them, is the most contagious and fruitful thing imaginable.

An Inverted Gardevoir can also sense emotions – but instead of seeking out positive emotions, such as happiness and love, they seek out negative emotions, such as anger, mistrust, and sadness. This innate sadism mirrors a normal Gardevoir's innate altruism, to the point where if you put the two kinds of Gardevoir in the same situation, they would seek to generate opposing emotions.

Another example: Inverted Grimer. A normal Grimer feeds only on pollution, and creates it wherever it goes, poisoning the environment. Inverted Grimer, on the other hand, can't digest pollution and their body collects pollution as they walking, cleaning their environment. The two powers are intrinsically opposed.

A normal Chikorita spreads a pleasant aroma from its leaf. An Inverted Chikorita spreads, on the other hand, a repulsive and obnoxious odor from its leaf – and it spreads it far and wide.

A normal Primarina has a beautiful singing voice, causing those that hear it to weep with joy. An Inverted Primarina's voice causes madness and unending despair in those that hear it.

You would think that something like Inversion would be beneficial toward Pokemon like Hydreigon and Wimpod, who have dispositions that work against them. But all Inversion does is invert their talents – their innate intelligence remains and dispositions are turned into various shades of evil, except for the X Variant, which is turned toward good.

For 'normal' Pokemon, such as a Teddiursa (which had no special talents) the Inversion's change is much more subtle, changing only a small aspect of their biology. For Pokemon with more glaring abilities, such as Litwick or Joltik, their biology drastically changes to accommodate their new abilities.

An Inverted ability isn't necessarily stronger or weaker than a non-Inverted one. They are, essentially, opposites after all. A tool flipped upside down. However, looking at some examples, such as an Inverted Grimer, it can be seen that an Inversion can give advantages at times. For an X Variant Gardevoir… not so much.

Sometimes, talent isn't the thing inverted – rather, it's some quality of the Pokemon. A normal Alolan Vulpix has an incredibly frigid breath, freezing anything it comes in contact with. An Inverted Alolan Vulpix, on the other hand, has such a burning breath that it will defrost most things.

It isn't something that is unique to Alolan Vulpix – many Pokemon have chilling breaths. But it _is_ something that inverts, unlike a Wimpod's cowardice or a Hydreigon's ferocity.

Each species is a unique study into Inversion, and unless the talent is incredibly apparent, there is no way to figure what exactly the Inversion will change, power-wise.

A bigger question is… why?

Why do powers invert? Why do auras change? Why is an Inverted Pokemon's morality so different? Why do their colors change?

Why do Pokemon turn Inverted?

**The Miasma**

The Miasma is a unique and fearsome entity. Its very existence is only known to Inverted Pokemon, of both variants, and a few select Pokemon. This is for the better – after all, the Miasma breeds off negativity and distrust.

The Miasma, as the source of the Inversions, appeared around the same time the Inversions did – namely, at the fall of the great Kingdoms. Exactly who or what created it is yet to be seen – after all, what sort of monster could create such a thing?

The Miasma has several vectors to enter a Pokemon. Its favored route is to enter through the egg, though a Shiny Stone will repulse it (it seems to coil around and be content near Dusk Stones, however). Once it enters, it will begin the transformations.

It doesn't change the Pokemon's mental state, its soul, for some reason. In fact, if one was to look at it optimistically, one could say that while the Miasma infects the body, it can't bring sickness to the soul – not by itself, at least.

It instead attacks the body – not harming it, but changing it. The pigments of the skin change, even if the chemicals inside don't necessarily have to. This gives credence to the light theory of Inversion, only to fall short when it was found that the kind of light source shining on the pigments doesn't change their color.

The necessary biological changes for the Inversion are taken care of in the egg, where the pain to the infant is minimized. If such changes were to take place in a more developed body, the pain would be much more unbearable due to the rearrangement of nerve endings.

The Miasma, as it does this, reinforces the eggshell enough that an atomic bomb wouldn't be able to put a dent into it. Interestingly, this only works for eggs – and more interestingly, it _learned_ this ability. Earlier eggs were much easier to crack, only slightly more durable than a normal egg. After several breaks, the Miasma learned how to deal with various kinds of threats to the egg, dissipating force with careful redirection.

This, however, doesn't apply to the trillions of ways a body can fail, as opposed to maintaining the structural integrity of an ovaloid.

The process of Inversion takes a long period of time for the egg method but bears a naturally Inverted Pokemon. These infantile Pokemon have no chance of resisting the Miasma, in any capacity, as they aren't able to consciously choose and even process events.

This isn't the case with other methods of infection. While the egg method is the most reliable (when there isn't a Shiny Stone involved), other methods can be done at various points in the Pokemon's life – and at a much faster rate.

However, the egg method is the only way the Miasma can transfer itself. Other methods need Pokemon to act as vectors.

Only one group has worked toward the Inversion of Pokemon – HUMANITY. Through various modes of testing, they came up with a method of injecting a Pokemon with Miasma to Invert it.

Typically, a Pokemon is sedated or otherwise immobilized, as to prevent retaliation and attack. The Pokemon is then attacked with a Dark Type moves.

Miasma in the area will use that opportunity. When a Pokemon is being attacked by a Ghost or Dark-type move, they will become much more vulnerable to infection and Inversion, due to the negativity involved with those types of attacks.

Of course, the Pokemon can fight off the Inversion at this point, if they have enough strength of will to reject it. If the entire nervous system is fighting off the Miasma, it can't settle into the body.

This type of indomitable will isn't common, however, and a more likely event will be that the Miasma settles in the body, before quickly and painfully changing the body to become Inverted.

At this point, the Inversion process is irreversible, so the Miasma works on its more important attack.

The attack on the mind.

Of course, the Miasma can't _infect_ the mind – otherwise, there would be no stopping it. It would spread like wildfire, eventually taking over the entire world. It can _attack_ it, though – whittling down its defenses over time in a battle of attrition.

The Miasma whispers into the ear of the Inverted. It chants and curses, smiles and shrieks. It will do its best to isolate you from society and weaken your resolve to fight.

At this juncture, the reason for the evilness of the Inversion is apparent. When the aura of the Miasma – the nightmarish, repulsive aura – is sensed by normal Pokemon, it causes a natural antipathy toward not the Miasma, but the Inverted Pokemon.

The combined attacks, from both the Miasma and the fearful normal Pokemon, attack the mind, causing fraying sanity, until their morality snaps.

They stop caring what other Pokemon think of them… they stop caring about the impacts of their actions. Being a goody-two-shoes brings nothing but pain… it just makes you so _tired_.

'Why should I care? Why should I care, if the things I do are good or bad? Why?!'

Their thoughts follow this train of thought, stewing in pain and self-pity.

Then… and only then… does the Miasma speak with kindness.

The Inverted Pokemon, if they were like this since birth, latches onto the kindness, and begins following the orders of the Miasma. Soon enough, it becomes the Inverted Pokemon and the Miasma against the world.

It becomes apparent that the Inverted Pokemon aren't born evil – very few beings truly are. Instead, the Miasma corrupts them to be the monster they turn to be.

This also separates the two on the morality spectrum – for the less evil, the Shiny Stone suppresses the Miasma and gives them the respite for the sanity they need. The truly evil, though – they lose their parental figure, their only hope in the bleak and barren world.

This makes the X Variant even more interesting. They don't have Miasma in them – in fact, they revile Miasma with a most dangerous passion, causing them to attack the normal Inverted Pokemon. The Miasma attacks them likewise and doesn't attempt to settle on them at all.

Why exactly this occurs will for now remain a mystery – in addition to how they have been Inverted without Miasma.

Pokemon that have lived without the Miasma can survive it for much longer, and perhaps shrug it off in its entirety, particularly if they had a positive disposition.

There is a notable instance of a Larvesta not falling for the mental tricks of the Miasma – though she was tricked by one of its allies, a Pawniard. That lady will go unnamed. She managed to keep her morality for longer than the few years or so it takes for a normal Pokemon to lose the battle.

You might be wondering – if I encounter the Miasma, how do I defend myself from it?

I'm glad you asked.

First of all, you shouldn't panic. That is the worst thing you could do in that situation, bar inviting the Miasma inside you directly.

Other than that, there isn't much to fear. The Miasma doesn't typically go for healthy developed individuals – it attacks when the Pokemon in question can't fight back, due to the effects of a dark or ground type move, or simply because they're a _fetus_.

The important thing is to remain calm. If you remain an impassable barrier, it will eventually learn to ignore you.

If you can't ignore it, though – such as when it's attacking a friend of yours – there is one thing you can do.

The Miasma, interestingly enough, has _types_. You heard right – types. The Miasma's properties mimic those of the Dark and Ghost Types – though for which reason will remain, for now, a mystery. This is an incredibly defensive combination – there is only one type that is super effective, that can penetrate and repel the Miasma.

The Fairy type.

If the Miasma meets Fairy-type energy, it will be repulsed, and it will recoil. Use it repeatedly, and you will cause it to dissipate and retreat. If this was known to the general populace, the demand for Fairy-type tutors would multiply, surely.

It, along with Shiny Stones, is the only known defense against the Miasma, other than a stalwart heart.

There are other materials which have interesting interactions with Miasma. One material absorbs Miasma and tricks it into thinking it's like an eggshell. As a result, the material soon becomes nearly indestructible. Another bounces it off itself, acting as a shield. This isn't very useful, though, as Miasma, acting as a gas, can simply move around it for its purposes.

Recently, however, there has been a spike in Miasma Phenomenon. This may be because of the events at Night's Prison.

And lastly… when the name 'Ahriman' is stated around the Miasma, it is strengthened – the Miasma's 'voice' becomes inescapable, and its influence grows.

Perhaps… just perhaps…

… the Ahriman is the key needed to understand and crack the case of the Miasma, once and for all.

* * *

**I wrote this little companion piece to the main story at the request of one of the fans. If there are any other overarching world questions, feel free to ask them. Enough, and I might add to this.**

**Seriously, though, this was fun. Don't be afraid to ask any world-related questions about Naixe.**


End file.
